ECG MONITORS COULD BEAT CAR THIEVES

A British health technology firm claims to have come up with a unique way to cut car thefts and potentially save lives.

B-secur, who have has spend 15 years developing heart rate monitoring systems, believe their heart rate monitoring technology could be fitted to cars to help with everything from road safety and security to personalised driving experiences.

The electrocardiogram technology reads and interprets individual cardiac rhythms, and can identify a person simply through their heartbeat.

According to B-secur’s CEO Alan Foreman, that means an ECG sensor fitted to a car could ensure it only opens and starts for selected people.

With rising numbers of owners falling victim to keyless thefts, the biometric security system could help thwart the latest criminal approach.

But Foreman says there’s also much wider potential.

He said: “While biometric security has been around for a while, the main benefit of using cardio-tech is in its dynamism: eyes, finger prints and other body parts used to identify people are static and so can really only be used for security whereas because your heart is dynamic it can provide so much more information.

“The potential benefits of this technology reach in to every single part of the driver experience, from basic car settings - for example, seat height and position - to in-car entertainment, security, safety and even vital signs monitoring and assessing; drowsiness, fatigue and stress.”